American Icons are works of art that help us understand our nation, and what it means to be an American.
From the Disney theme parks to Leaves of Grass, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to "Anything Goes," these are classics that remain relevant to us today.
UPDATE 11/7: The final Icon in our 2013 will be Mad Magazine, nominated by Dave from New York: "By tirelessly mocking all that is ridiculous and overblown, everything that is worst about America, Mad stands as an icon of what is best about America: the little guy speaking truth to power, but with a winking grin." We'll present a profile of Mad in the coming weeks.
See all the nominees in the map and list below.
The Lincoln Memorial
Washington, D.C
The Lincoln Memorial is America’s soap box. Most famously, in 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech catapulted the efforts of the Civil Rights movement, and it helped make the memorial one of the country’s most powerful architectural symbols.
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Barbie
El Segundo, California
Barbie used to be a staple in every child's toy box in households across America. She was created to be a wholesome American girl that embodied how women should look and act at the time. While children were simply using her to play out their fantasies of adult life, she was calling attention to society's views of sexuality and feminism for the rest of us.
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The Wizard of Oz
Kansas
It's difficult to imagine a story more magical than the wonderful The Wizard of Oz. Over the last seven decades, the film has woven itself into America's cultural consciousness, and those songs are truly unforgettable.
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The Great Gatsby
Long Island, NY
As the novel that captured the essence of the American Dream, it's become synonymous for the riches and glamor of the roaring 1920's.
The fact that it also critiques our unrestrained materialism makes it as relevant today as it was when it was first published in 1925.
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Moby-Dick
New Brunswick, MA
Herman Melville's brilliant novel continues to resonate in our culture more than 150 years after it was written.
Plus it contains one of the most recognizable opening lines in English-language literature - "Call me Ishmael".
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